Echoes
by SapphireKisses
Summary: "Lily, that's what happens when a boy likes a girl. He's mean to her." Lily snorted. "Like! He'd better be in LOVE with me to make up for all the horrible pranks." Sirius sighed. "Well... you see... that's the problem. He is." LJ MWPP
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**: Characters/wizarding world belong to J.K. Rowling.

**.: PROLOGUE :.**

_Of Confessions, Crises and Crime_

* * *

**T**he wind howled. The trees creaked. Drops of rain began to tumble down from the sky above. Eight students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry were out wandering about, each lost deep in thought.

One sixteen-year old boy stood motionless out on the grounds, staring blankly at the redhead standing in front of him, barely noticing that he was getting soaked from head to toe.

_Pregnant?_ He thought to himself. _Pregnant? She can't possibly be pregnant!_

She looked up at him, her green eyes tearing up. He shifted his eyes from hers. He couldn't look at her just yet.

_Breathe. Just breathe, _he told himself, trying to calm down. He passed his hand over his face, a nervous habit he'd picked up over the years.

He didn't know what to think or what to do. What could he possibly even say? The only fairly coherent through running through his mind was _'How did this happen?'_

She whispered his name, reaching out to him with one hand, another holding her stomach. He involuntarily took a step back. She whipped her arm back, hurt. He forced himself to look up at her: her defensive demeanor, her trembling voice, the tears rolling down her cheeks, the pain in her eyes...

He willed himself to pull it together but he just couldn't. His mind reeled. _What am I going to do with my life? What am I going to tell my parents? Does this mean I'm going to have to take time off to care for... it? _

He wasn't ready to be a parent. He was barely ready to go out in the world and take care of himself. How could he be responsible for another human being? And what would his parents...

His heart skipped a beat. He didn't even want to begin to think how far into the next century his mother would hex him if she found out what her son had been doing in his free time.

He swallowed and forced himself to look at the young girl in front of him. He knew the right thing to do was to hold her in his arms and tell her that everything was going to be ok, that he'd be there for her no matter what happened… but it wasn't ok. He couldn't just pretend that everything was fine when it wasn't?

He couldn't help but wonder how his night had gone so, so wrong. Fifteen minutes earlier, he'd snuck out onto the grounds to for a midnight rendezvous with his girlfriend. The sky had been clear, the stars shining brightly down at them. In a matter of a few seconds his world had been turned upside down, crashing down like the rain on the cold, hard walls of the castle.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth. No words came out. He realized he had no idea what to say. He closed his mouth and stared at her miserably.

He had no idea what to say.

-:-

Meanwhile, on the other side of Hogwarts, inside the warm common room of the Gryffindor Tower, a girl was sitting on the floor. She unwrapped a chocolate frog and tossed the box on the growing pile of empty candy boxes and wrappers littered around her. She bit off the head of the squirming frog and stared glumly into the fire.

She couldn't believe she'd thrown herself at him like that.

She stuffed the rest of the frog in her mouth, fighting back tears. _Oh my god. Pull yourself together!_ She told herself. _It's been weeks! Why are you still letting that loser get to you like that?_

But that was the problem. He wasn't a loser. He was a nice, kind, smart guy- And she'd made a complete fool of herself in front of him. He'd probably laughed for days afterwards. She shouldn't be surprised seeing as the way he cheated on-

More tears began rolling down her face. She just didn't know any other way to deal with the situation. She'd never felt more embarrassed in her life- or expected things to get so out of hand.

She'd thought he was one of the good guys. He was charming and sweet... She unwrapped and ate another chocolate frog amid her tears.

She wished so much that she could take back the last two hours. It was one thing for him to lie to her. She'd been getting over it. But to completely violate everything by-

_It's true what they say, that ignorance is bliss_ she decided. She'd been much, much happier before she'd known, before she'd seen what she'd seen. She wished it was possible to unsee things. If only it was as easy a oblivating-

She paused on that thought. It wasn't possible to not see what she had. But it was possibly to not _remember_.

She wiped away the tears. She wanted so much to be strong to be like her friends who never let guys faze them. She wanted to hold her head high and tell off stupid, idiotic guys for being jerks. But she couldn't. She was too soft spoken for that. She only knew to cry and drown her sorrows in chocolate.

She sniffled and sighed, as a fresh set of tears rolled down her pale, freckled cheeks.

_But maybe it doesn't have to be that way_, she thought. _Maybe this time it will be different. _

With determination, she reached for her wand.

-:-

Just a few stories above her, in the boys' dormitories, a boy was sitting on his bed, clutching a letter in his hand.

_I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. You have to understand why I did it. I wish I could explain it to you but I can't take the chance to see you again. I'll put what I can in this letter but this will have to be our last correspondence. _

He crumpled it and threw it away in a rare fit of anger. Without thinking he punched the wall; the adrenaline pumping through him temporarily numbed the pain.

_I don't need anymore of your bullshit_ he thought. _I trusted you and you threw it all away for what? Friends who aren't even real? You don't deserve me. I don't need your pity. _

He angrily paced the room. He'd given so much to her. He was there for her through every breakdown and every bad day. He took her on fancy dates and bought her expensive things. He'd shared with her his hopes and dreams and fears and secrets... He'd _loved_ her dammit! And this was how she was going to repay him? By betrayal, lies, and a pity letter. Well he didn't need her. He was over it.

He stopped pacing and threw himself on his bed staring at the white ceiling.

He wished so much that he really was over it, over her, but he just couldn't turn his feelings off. She was the first girl he'd liked, definitely the first who'd paid him any real attention. But how could he have been so blind?

There were signs. There had always been signs. He'd just ignored them because it was more convenient that way.

_I should have known from the start that she was a goddamn bitch who was only looking out for herself. She is selfish and cowardly just like every other girl. _

If anything, he had learned his lesson. He'd finally understood the meaning of real cowardice.

_She couldn't even face me. She didn't even care enough to do this face to face._

He sat up, his head in his hands.

She had just been using him and playing with his heart. She didn't deserve a chance to explain herself. She didn't give him any respect. Why should he be any different? Why should he listen to her?

He took a deep breath and looked at the crumpled ball of parchment contemplatively. His eyes hardened. He'd made up his mind. He wasn't going to read her cheap explanation. He was going to give her the satisfaction. He was going to throw it into the fire. That letter had no place in his new life, his life without her.

He was going to burn it to crisp.

-:-

In yet another part of the Castle, in a hidden corridor on the seventh floor, two students hastily broke apart from a kiss. Their chests heaving, eyes locked together, they held each other's gaze, staring at each other in shock. It had definitely been unexpected to say the least. The young man opened his mouth but before he could say anything the girl turned around and fled. He called after her but she kept to running.

She could hear him following her so she turned a corner, hoping she'd lose him. She saw a staircase up ahead and sprinted up the stairs. She turned around for a moment and watched in satisfaction as the staircase moved seconds after she'd reached the top, leaving him stranded at the bottom. He called her name again, hoarsely, desperately, but she ignored him and kept going.

Certain now that she'd lost him, she slowed down, stopped, and caught her breath. She looked around and realized she had no idea where she was. She spun in a circle, trying to decide which was the best way to get back to the dormitories. She picked the most likely course and started along it, praying she wouldn't run into Filch, the caretaker. She couldn't afford another detention.

She tried not to think about what had happened. _What good will that do anyway,_ she tried to tell herself but her thoughts kept going back to the kiss.

_What did it mean?_ She couldn't help but wondering. _Does he like me?_

He was one of her best friends. He had no business liking her! _Why oh why did that idiot kiss me? _

More than the kiss she tried not to think about how good it had been. _Was that just because he's a manwhore or is it that I have feelings for him?_ she couldn't help but wonder.

She didn't want to have feelings for him. She'd had more than enough failed physical relationships in the past year, and even more failed emotional ones. She didn't want a boyfriend because clearly, the only guys who were attracted to her were idiots and players.

Her confusion eventually gave way to annoyance. _It was his dammed fault. Why would he do something so _stupid_? Did he _want_ to ruin our friendship?_

She should have known a friendship with the guy who was quite possibly the biggest slut at Hogwarts would lead to disaster. There was a reason he didn't have girl friends. Or girlfriends for that matter. It was a stupid, _stupid_ idea and she'd paid the price for it.

She tripped over her own feet and nearly fell. She caught herself and grabbed the wall to regain her balance. When she felt wood instead of the cold stone of the wall, she turned around to see that she'd grabbed the wooden frame of an empty portrait. She recognized the empty tables and firewhiskey bottles in the portrait—she was close to the Gryffindor Tower.

_I'm going to ignore him_ she decided as she walked. She couldn't think of a better way to handle the situation. A confrontation would only lead to unwanted conversation and she wasn't sure if she was ready to face the consequences. _No, it's best to avoid him. If I stay away, he'll get the message._

With every intention to put the events of the night from her mind, she quickened her pace and continued walking in the direction of her warm bed.

-:-

The guy who had been following her was left at the foot of the stairs, now leading to an entirely different floor, watching as she ran away from him, robes billowing behind her.

_Fuck!_

He ran a hand through his hair and stood staring at her.

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!_

He knew there was no point in following her without any way of finding her. She could have gone anywhere and shouting after her would only attract Filch. He wished he had the Map with him. But it was locked safe inside his trunk inside the Gryffindor Tower.

Inspired by the idea of finding the map, then looking for her, he started walking towards the dormitories.

He only just wanted to talk to her. _It didn't mean anything. I just want to tell her that it didn't mean anything._

She was his best- his only- girl friend. He hadn't meant to kiss her. She'd just poured his heart out to her and he'd done the only thing he knew to do in that situation: comfort her physically. He just hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid... like tell someone about it. Because if she did then it would only be a matter of time before-

He paled a little at the thought.

_Merlin I was stupid! So, so stupid! Why did I do that?_ He chided himself, not wanting to really dwell on what would happen.

He passed a hand over his face. She was never going to forgive him. _He _was never going to forgive him.

"Fuck," he cursed out loud, as he approached a passageway he knew would lead him directly to the tower. He politely asked the door to open and it swung open with a click. He drew his wand out and muttered, "Lumos." The tip of his wand lit up, illuminating his path.

He had never felt this helpless before. He always knew what to say to get himself out of tough scenarios. He always knew the right thing to do to save his ass. But this time... He just wasn't sure if there was anything he _could_ say.

He reached the portrait hole only to find the fat lady missing. He let out a string of curses and wondered where to go. He couldn't just sit outside until she came back. That was just asking to be found by Filch.

He just wanted to go up to his room and get drunk dammit.

_Is that too much to ask?_

He supposed he could go to Hogsmead... But without the cloak or map, he was blind. Risking sneaking out was just plain stupid. He had no choice but to lay low somewhere. He began to walk towards what was probably his best bet: the Room of Requirement.

_How had this year gone so wrong?_ he wondered as he scanned the corridors for patrolling the teachers._ First the locket, next the poisoning, then Jo and now this? _

It was supposed to be the best year of their Hogwarts lives. They were going to pull pranks on all the teachers, explore the grounds in the middle of the night and get drunk every weekend.

_We were going to rule the school_ he thought miserably. _We were going to leave our legacy. Is this all we're worth?_

Dejected and lost in thought, he continued quickening his pace until he was nearly sprinting. It was best to get to his destination quickly.

-:-

Somewhere behind him, in the prefect's bathroom, a girl was taking an illegal bubble bath. She lowered herself further into the depths of the warm water, struggling against the tears rolling down her face.

She couldn't believe that one guy had made her cry- what a thousand people had failed to in the last 12 years of her life.

_I'm supposed to be strong dammit!_ She cursed herself, hastily wiping the tears away.

She didn't have room in her life for something so weak as crying. Her father had raised her to have more self-respect than that. She tired to force herself to stop but it was to no avail; she continued to sob, her thin shoulders quaking.

She didn't understand how this could have happened to her. She didn't understand how she, who took all the precautions in the world, who was so strong, had let a guy take advantage of her like that. He was supposed to take care of her, he was supposed to love her, not-

More tears cascaded down from her brown eyes as she thought about the one person she'd trusted who'd betrayed her the most.

She shivered. The water felt cold all of a sudden. She reached for the hot water and turned it back on. She let the water envelope her and closed her eyes.

She didn't even know how she was going to tell her friends about... Her eyes snapped open.

They'd warned her. They'd told her to stay away and she'd ignored every word... She'd fought with them, said they didn't know what they were talking about... But now...

_Everyone saw it coming. Everyone except me._

She gasped for breath, the realization coupling with the scalding heat to make her feel suffocated.

It wasn't about him, not entirely. It was about how he made _her_ feel. And he'd made her feel worthless. Cheap. Disgusting. She shuddered again.

The water swirled around her just like her thoughts as she stared into space, lost in thought.

-:-

Meanwhile, a young man sat contemplatively on a plush chair in the Room of Requirement, surrounded by bookshelves. He stared vacantly into the roaring fire in front of him holding his cheek. It was still throbbing; soon he'd probably be able to see the well developed print of a small, feminine hand.

_I deserved it,_ he thought, depressed that his evening had taken a turn for the worse. _I was stupid enough to think it wouldn't be a disaster._

He should have known from the second he'd met her that it was going to be a mistake. But he'd never felt comfortable enough with anyone before. She understood him unlike anyone else. Obviously it was a mistake to think she'd understand him _that_ well.

His heart raced as he tried thought about the consequences if word got out of what he'd done. It was going to be the end of his world. If he wasn't shunned and hated for what he was...

He'd worked so hard to make people see him a certain way. Despite the bad cards he'd been dealt, he'd found a way to make people see the good in him. Now...

And his friends... He'd have to tell them himself. He owed them at least that. He couldn't wait for them to hear it through the grapevine, especially when they'd done so much to protect him, so much to make him feel safe, happy, wanted.

No. He owed it to them to be honest.

He thought back to how it had all begun, that fateful moment two weeks after they'd gotten back to school. Things had been so easy back then, so simple. Everything was as it was mean to be. No surprises, no mysteries, and best of all, no girls.

It was just the four of them, doing what they could to make their dreams come true. They were planning to have an amazing year. Somewhere down the road amazing had faded and now...

Now everything was spinning out of control in unforeseeable ways and there was nothing any of them could do to stop it.

* * *

**A/N: Hello =]] I put up the prologue to see what kind of reception this story would get. Let me know what you think so I can decide where to take this story and how long to make it based on reader interest. Thank you! **


	2. Of Breakups, Maps, & Forgotten Lockets

**Disclaimer**: Characters/wizarding world belong to J.K. Rowling.

**.: CHAPTER ONE :.**

_Of break-ups, Maps and forgotten lockets_

* * *

_**Four Months Earlier…**_

**I**t was 6 a.m. Lily Ana Evans knew that even without actually opening her eyes. She had trained herself years ago to wake up at 6 every morning, even without an alarm. But she let her eyes flicker open anyway. She knew right away that she wasn't in her own room. Her room at home was decorated in shades of green and had moving posters of her favorite Quidditch teams and pictures, letters and postcards from her friends and family; the room she was in was largely undecorated, save for a few books lying on a simple ash desk. It was a _boy's_ room. And not just any boy – it was Lily's boyfriend's room. Actually, soon to be ex-boyfriend.

In two days, she was heading back to boarding school where she, as a witch, was studying magic, but somehow she had yet to tell Devon that things were over between them. She hadn't intended to put it off for so long, honestly, but every time she had tried to tell him she wanted to end things, she hadn't been able to find the right words.

Words didn't fail Lily too often, but break ups really weren't her thing. Well, she supposed they probably weren't _anyone's_ thing, but she was especially bad at them. She always felt guilty afterward and she never knew what to say to make the situation less awkward.

Truthfully she hadn't even meant to end up with a boyfriend. Devon had started out as a summer fling, a college boy she had met while out with her Muggle friends from her childhood. After quite a bit of flirting, three dates and a half a handle of vodka, she had ended up in bed with him and two weeks later, in a relationship. At first it had been nice to date a Muggle – she didn't have to teach him how to use a telephone or have to explain the rules of football. She could talk about her family freely, and about her interests in Muggle theater and music. But the truth was, as much fun as it had been dating someone who knew nothing about her world, she was dating someone who knew nothing about her world.

Actually, if Lily were being entirely honest, it wasn't even that he was a Muggle. He was a good guy: smart, funny, generous, gorgeous as hell, but there was just something about him that didn't inspire the passion she had always dreamed true love would hold. She knew it was only a matter of time before they would have broken up, even if she didn't have to leave for school. In fact, she was just saving him some of the inevitable pain by ending it sooner rather than later, she reasoned, reminding herself that she _did_ have to break up with him.

She slowly got out of bed, careful not to wake him, and silently got dressed. As she searched for her right shoe, she half-seriously debated leaving him a break up letter, maybe even having her owl Artemis deliver it while he was still sleeping. She looked over at his still body on the bed, his brown hair tousled, his chest rising and falling gently with his breathing, his chiseled face at peace.

It was almost as if the heavens above were spiting Lily for her cowardly thoughts of sneaking out without a proper goodbye, but Devon, feeling Lily's gaze on him, stirred. Lily muttered a string of curse words under her breath as she finished buckling her sandal. His eyes opened and he groggily turned toward her.

"Lily?" he asked softly, blinking at her. His eyes fell on the clock on his nightstand. "Jesus Lily it's 6 a.m. Come back to bed."

Devon, in spite of his inattentive state, seemed to pick up on the fact that she was hesitating. He willed himself awake and pulled his body into a sitting position.

"What's wrong?"

She smiled at him, pained. "Devon…" She paused as she gathered her wits and tried to figure out what to say. "I have to go."

"Home?" he asked slowly, trying to digest what she was saying.

"I'm going back to school in two days."

Devon looked at her as if she had started speaking Greek or grown a third eye. She waited for him to process what she was saying.

"Is that your way of breaking up with me?" he asked finally. "Because it sucks."

"No!" Lily automatically responded and then mentally cursed her insatiable need to avoid disappointing people. "Well, yes," she finally forced herself to say. "But it's really because of my own issues," she hurried on.

Devon was looking at her incredulously.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"I just… I can't be in a long distance relationship," she said. "That's not what I'm looking for. Another time, another place, maybe…" she trailed off.

Even if he wasn't a Muggle, she wasn't lying about the long distance aspect. She didn't believe in long distance relationships. They were always more trouble than they were worth.

He was speechlessly staring at her. Lily couldn't help but wonder if he would have been taking the news in quite the same way had she not thrust it on him as soon as he'd woken up. She was almost glad he didn't have more to say; it made a little easier to be the one doing most of the talking.

"I'm _so_ sorry," she said. She took a step forward, as if to touch him or hug him, but she thought the better of it and stepped back. "Goodbye Devon."

And she walked out of his apartment before he could even say anything.

As she reached the street and began her short trek back to her parents' house, she stopped and looked sorrowfully back at the apartment she had just left. She half expected him to come to the balcony and throw a box of her stuff out on the street but she knew that was just the post break-up "adrenaline" (or whatever hormone was in charge of post-break up emotions) talking; her life wasn't a trashy chick flick, and she hadn't even left anything at his place for him to be able to do that.

She tried to shake her emotions off. It was nothing a hot shower and her mom's delicious cooking wouldn't cure. Then when she got back to school, she could have a proper wallowing session with her two best friends that consisted of copious amounts of butterbeer and Honeydukes chocolates.

With thoughts of her mother's pancakes and pictures of Hogwarts, Alice and Emma floating around in her mind, the ten minute walk passed by especially quickly.

-:-

Lily sat in front of her grandmother's old dresser and solemnly stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had always been a little pale but during the summer, light freckles dotted her nose and cheeks. As a child, she had spent hours with home remedies trying to get rid of them, but nowadays she let them be. They always went away on their own a few months into the school year.

Growing up, Lily's hair had been a bright orange, earning her the nicknames of carrot top and ginger. However as she aged, the flaming red had mellowed out into a deep auburn, a hair color she had always envied on her mother. She had grown sick of hearing it, but everyone she knew told her that she looked exactly like her mother – except for her eyes. She had her father's emerald green eyes.

In terms of her personality, she was a mixture of both her parents. Her father and her were both stubborn, determined, stood firm in their beliefs and had an insane love of anything chocolate. But while her father was rather mellow and tended to avoid confrontation, she had inherited her quick temper from her mother's Irish roots. Where she got her fearlessness, no one knew.

Lily sat brushing her wet hair aimlessly for a while. She didn't know if it was just the morning's events with Devon, or the fact that she was leaving home in two days or something else entirely, but for whatever reason, she felt like breaking down and crying.

But nothing ever came of crying, she had learned that years ago. So she pushed back her tears, loosely braided her hair and went downstairs.

She snuck up behind her mother who was drinking tea at the kitchen table and wrapped her arms around her.

"Morning mother," she said lightly, kissing her mother on the cheek.

Her mother turned around and smiled pleasantly at Lily. Her smile faltered as she caught sight of Lily's face. In the way that mothers just know when things aren't all right with their children, she just _knew_ that Lily was upset.

"What's wrong darling?" she asked, pouring Lily some tea.

"Nothing," Lily insisted, trying to smile. Her inability to discuss her feelings was something else she had inherited from her father. Her blatant display of emotion on his face was from her mother.

"Lily," her mother said. "Talk to me, what's wrong?"

Lily sipped her tea and debated telling her mother what was bothering her. If she didn't say anything her mother would probably continue pestering her. And if she told the truth, she would probably be in a _lot _of trouble. Lily hated lying to her parents for no reason though so she settled on a half-truth, one that didn't involve her being out of the house all night.

"I ended things with Devon last night," she said finally.

Her mother frowned. She hadn't liked Devon. Strangely enough it wasn't that she didn't approve of Devon for being a 19-year old college boy, but rather the fact that he was a Muggle. She had been very bothered by the fact that Lily had lied to him about her entire life to be with him.

"Lily, we've gone to great lengths to protect your secret," she had said over and over again. "I don't want you to throw that all away if you're not even serious about this guy. What if he writes or calls Mallory Creek asking for you? What if he finds out the truth?"

But Lily kept assuring her that things would be fine, that she would get out of it before things got too complicated.

"I understand that must have been hard for you," her mother said, leaning over to stroke Lily's hair. "But it's all for the best Lils."

"I know, it's just that…" Lily searched for the right words to explain how she was feeling.

"I know you feel like you left him with so many questions and no answers but that's what your life is going to be like if you choose to date someone who doesn't have your special gifts," her mother said, understanding completely without Lily having to say a single word.

"But I don't want to be restricted in that way!" Lily said, finally getting to the root of what was bothering her. "I don't want to have to only date wizards because I'm scared someone's going to find out my secret!"

"No Lily, I'm not saying that at all," her mother countered immediately. "When you're a little older, when you can actually use magic and make your own decisions… If you meet someone _then_ who you think you want to pursue a serious relationship with, maybe even want to marry someday, you can tell him your secret. But now, when you're still underage and living with us, where we have an obligation to protect you and your secret, I just don't think it's a good idea. You should be dating people that you feel comfortable around, that you can be yourself around, your _real_ self."

Lily's mother had honestly not told her anything that she didn't already know, but just being able to talk to her about it made Lily feel as if a huge weight had been lifted.

"What am I going to do without you at school?" she asked, leaning over and pulling her mother into a tight hug.

Her mother just laughed. "Obviously be completely lost," she joked. "Now come on, let me make you breakfast. What do you want? Eggs? Toast?"

But before her mother could actually make any breakfast, they heard the doorbell ring. Lily and her mother exchanged glances.

"Who's here at 7 in the morning?" Lily asked suspiciously, hurrying to the living room to see who it could be. When she reached the living room, her father had already opened the door and standing in front of her were her sister and quite possibly the largest man she had ever seen. Her father stepped back to let them in.

"Tuney," Lily said in surprise.

Petunia, her older sister, had pretty much stopped speaking to Lily since she had turned 11 and received her Hogwarts acceptance letter and therefore pursed her lips and ignored Lily's greeting.

"What are you doing here so early Tuney?" her father asked, looking warily at the large man who shook his hand and grunted something that Lily couldn't quite make out.

"Where's mum?" she asked instead of responding to his question. "Mum?"

Lily's mother hurried to the living room, surprised.

"Petunia!" she greeted with a surprised smile. "What a lovely surprise!"

Petunia impatiently dragged them all into the living room and made everyone sit down while she herself remained standing next to the big, beefy man with little neck.

"Mum, dad," she started. Her parents exchanged worried glances. "Vernon and I are…" she paused for dramatic effect, "engaged!"

She waited expectantly, but her parents simply sat there, shell-shocked.

"Congratulations!" Lily finally said, breaking the silence but her parents continued to remain silent, exchanging bewildered looks. Petunia ignored the fact that Lily had said anything at all.

Her father finally cleared his throat and said, "Uh, Petunia, not that we're not happy for you, but, er, can we talk to you for a moment. Alone, please?"

Lily immediately took the cue and asked Vernon if he would like some tea in the kitchen. Petunia looked disgustedly at Lily but nodded for him to go along with her. Lily led the way to the kitchen.

"Tea?" she asked, reaching for a cup.

"No thanks," he said gruffly, seating himself at the table.

Lily put the cup back and stood awkwardly, taking him in. Lily prided herself on being a fairly good judge of character and there was just something off-putting about the guy.

"So you go to university with Petunia then?" she asked conversationally. Her mother had told her that Petunia had been seeing some boy named Vernon for a while now but she hadn't had a chance to meet him.

"I did, but now I work for a company called Grunnings," he said, puffing out his chest proudly. "We make drills."

Lily smiled weakly. "Interesting. So how'd you two meet?"

"In an economics class."

"Oh, that's nice."

Vernon grunted in response. He didn't seem like he wanted to continue the conversation so Lily refilled her own cup of tea and sipped it. She wondered what her parents were saying to Petunia. However, much to Lily's surprise, Vernon started talking again.

"Petunia told me you both don't get along," he said, almost tauntingly. "That's a shame, huh? I'm very close to my sister and she adores Petunia."

Lily wasn't at all surprised that Petunia had been badmouthing her but she was surprised at Petunia's familiarity with his family that he was hinted at. She was almost slightly offended that she hadn't even met the guy, while his sister had already met and grown close to Petunia. Regardless of their personal feelings toward each other, Lily had expected that Petunia would at least bring the guy she was seriously dating home to meet her _entire_ family before just announcing their engagement.

"We drifted apart when we went to different schools," Lily responded curtly.

"Ah yes, different _schools_." He sneered slightly.

Lily frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Petunia told he where you go. Where you _really_ go to school."

Lily started. Petunia barely liked hearing her talk about Hogwarts and she hated any mention at all of magic. She couldn't imagine that she was going around running her mouth off about her being different.

"Where I really go to school?" Lily asked, feigning innocence. "You mean Mallory Creek."

"She told me that was just a cover story, to make sure no one asks any questions about your _abnormalities_." He was definitely sneering at her now.

Lily sat unmoving. She wondered what was going to happen to her if Vernon indeed found out about the magic world. She knew Muggles weren't supposed to know about magic; her friend Emma, whose father worked for the Ministry, had told her that they had entire departments dedicated to making sure the magic world remained hidden. She didn't think the Ministry of Magic would take too kindly to having her sister's fiancé running around blurting out the truth to everyone.

"Yes," he jeered, a cruel smirk on his face, "Petunia told me that you actually go to Madam Georgiana's Secure Center for Incurably Criminal Girls!"

Lily was dumbfounded. "What?"

Lily was completely astounded that Petunia had gone to such great lengths to make sure that her fiancé, and probably his family, looked down upon her for going to some imaginary school for what seemed like insane children. She knew her sister didn't like her, but to make up stuff?

Petunia, though not stunning, was by no means unattractive, and could have had her choice of suitors. Vernon was quite possibly the last person in the world that Lily had expected Petunia to want to marry, both in terms of looks and personality.

A part of her wanted to storm into the living room and hit Petunia for this Madam Georgiana's business, but another part of her just felt sorry for her sister. She had always expected that one day Petunia would get over her jealousy that Lily had been chosen to attend Hogwarts while she hadn't and they could go back to the way things had been for the first 11 years. Lily, who simply hadn't wanted to accept the fact that her sister hated her, was completely floored by the sudden insight that her sister did in fact loathe her.

Vernon was nearly dancing with glee as he noted the reaction on Lily's face at his confession, which he wrongly assumed was indeed a result of this "Madam Georgiana" business.

"Cat got your tongue?" he taunted.

Before Lily could decide what to say, her parents and sister walked in. Lily quickly tried to wipe the emotions off her face; Vernon maintained the smug look. Lily resisted the urge to kick his smile off his face.

"Vernon," Lily father said tiredly, appearing to have aged about ten years. Lily hadn't ever seen him look as weary and old as he did in that moment. "May I speak with you for a moment?"

Vernon stood, and wiping the grin off his face and replacing it with a more respectful look, followed Mr. Evans out the door.

Lily glanced at her mother who was angrily cleaning the kitchen counters. She was a stress cleaner, a habit both Lily and Petunia had inherited from her.

Petunia was sulking in one corner of the kitchen. Evidently the conversation with her parents hadn't gone quite as well as she'd hoped. Though Lily was still stunned by the newfound knowledge of exactly how much her sister hated her, she couldn't simply stand by and let Petunia make, what Lily was sure was, the biggest mistake of her life.

"Tuney," Lily said softly, approaching her. Petunia shot her a dirty look. That didn't deter Lily in the least. "Tuney, I'm happy for you, I really am," Lily said earnestly, "but are you sure he's the right guy for you?"

"What do you care?" Petunia retorted with a snort.

"Petunia, I'm still your sister!" Lily exclaimed. "I still care about you."

"I don't really care what you think," she said coldly, brushing past her.

"Petunia, come on," Lily persisted, following her. "You're young and you're beautiful, you can have any guy! What do you even see in him?"

Petunia spun on her heel and faced Lily. "You wouldn't understand!"

"Try me!" Lily challenged.

"He is an incredible guy. Just because you can't get past the way he looks—"

"How dare you insinuate that I'm superficial," she demanded in a low voice, cutting Petunia off. "You should have seen the way he looked at me when he told me about Madam Georgiana's whatever bullshit school you made up and told him I attended."

Petunia, for the first time since she'd burst in the door, looked fearful. She gathered all the hatred she had in her 21-year old heart and channeled it towards Lily.

"Shut up!" she yelled and stormed out.

Lily made to go after her but her mother put an arm on her shoulder and held her back.

"Let her go," she said resignedly.

Her mother sat down abruptly at the table and started blankly ahead and a wave of emotion suddenly washed over Lily as she realized that the events of the day had affected her mother just as much as her. For the second time in two hours, Lily wrapped her arms around her mother, rested her own head on her mother's and fought back tears.

* * *

James Harold Potter couldn't sleep. His eyes snapped open and suddenly he was wide-awake. He tossed and turned restlessly but it was futile—he just couldn't seem to go back to sleep. He groggily sat up and reached for his glasses; he was nearly blind without them. He squinted at the clock beside his bed and swore loudly. It was 6:35 a.m. The only time he ever woke up that early was probably Christmas morning. He sighed and dropped back down onto his mattress, staring up at the ceiling of his room.

James' room was quite the opposite of what was expected of a stereotypical teenager's room. It was impeccable – not a single book was out of place, or trouser thrown casually over the chair or piles of dirty laundry in the corner. No, he liked things to be neat and organized. Off to the side of his room, his trunk was packed with clothes, schoolbooks and broom, ready for his return to Hogwarts later that day. His sheets were a deep red to match the Gryffindor banners and pictures of him and his teammates dressed in their House colors, holding the Quidditch Cup on his wall, all things his mother had insisted he put up. He had a small bookshelf beside his bed that contained a small collection of fiction books that hardly anyone knew he owned. If it got out that James Potter liked to read, it would destroy his reputation at school of never having cracked open a book.

James thought the rumors about that he, Sirius and Remus, two of his best friends, never studied were absurd. He didn't know anyone who could just _do_ magic. Even Lily Evans, one of the smartest witches in their year, spent hours and hours pouring over books and charts. Not that he would ever openly admit to her that he thought she was one of the smartest people he knew. No, he preferred to maintain a healthy level of animosity and competition with Lily Evans.

Ah, Lily Evans. She was an enigma, that one. James honestly had never been so mesmerized by anyone in his life. He remembered their very first meeting, six years ago so clearly. Even then, she had been absolutely stunning. It was the first day of classes and he had accidentally run into her as they both rounded a corner at the same time. He remembered standing and staring at her for a full 30 seconds, taking in her orange hair, bright green eyes and freckled face as she too stood in front of him, shocked. He had never seen a more beautiful girl in his life. And in that moment, he'd wanted nothing more than for her to _know _who he was. He opened his mouth and what came out was, "Watch where you're going carrot-top."

He had no idea what had possessed him to say it. He had fully intended to apologize profusely and introduce himself, but somewhere from his brain to his mouth, the words had gotten lost. And to his immense surprise, the 11-year old girl, instead of bursting into tears, coolly retorted with, "You first, four eyes," and brushed past him.

James, not even caring that he was late for class, had turned around and watched her walk away, amazed. He couldn't wipe the goofy grin on his face for the next two hours that even McGonagall had been worried some older kid had put a cheering charm on him.

Six years later, their insults had certainly improved, but their attitudes hadn't changed in the least. James would continue to pick fights with her and Lily continued to be vexed by him. He received no greater pleasure than when he was doing something detention-worthy and she loved nothing more than being the one to catch him in the act and get him into trouble. Somewhere down the line, their enmity had turned to school and suddenly they were competing for the best marks. James had certainly done well in school before but competing with _her_ just made it that much more imperative that he do well. James never missed an opportunity to gloat when he did better than her and she never missed a chance to get him back by shutting him down publicly.

In his fourth year, James had a brilliant idea. He decided to announce in front of half the school that the reason that he and Lily had yelling matches was because Lily was in love with him.

"Don't worry Lils," he'd said with a wink. "I'll take you out. Go on, go out with me."

She had been livid. She hadn't even waited until the crowd had cleared before hexing him senseless. She'd lost 50 points for Gryffindor and received her first ever detention for that. He had ended up in the hospital wing covered in boils with a bloody nose and a sprained arm.

He didn't know what it was about her that drove him insane and made him do crazy things. He just got a thrill knowing that she didn't react like that to anyone else. He, and _he only_, knew how to push her buttons and get a rise out of her.

James' stomach grumbled loudly. He glanced back at the clock. 6:53. Groaning, he got out of bed. He couldn't believe how traitorous his body was being by waking him up so early on his last day of vacation. He walked downstairs, still in his pajamas, and walked straight to the kitchen. He was raiding the pantry when his mother walked in, shocked.

"James?" she asked, surprised.

He stuck his head out. "Hello mum."

She looked confused. She usually had to threaten him out of bed at 9 a.m. to ensure he was on time to catch the Hogwarts Express every year. "You are aware this is before noon, correct?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep. I'm starving though!"

Mrs. Potter sighed. Boys.

"I'll make something," she said, gently shoving him out of the pantry. She eyed his hair. "You need a haircut."

He ran a hand through it, messing it up even more. "Muuum," he whined.

They had the same conversation every time he went back to Hogwarts. His mother insisted on trimming his hair before leaving and somehow he always ended up looking like he hadn't even had his haircut.

James' hair was, at best, uncooperative. His black strands stuck out in every which way and any action done on it, magic of Muggle, had no effect whatsoever. He got that from his father's side of the family. He looked more or less like his father. They both had the same lanky build, same hazel eyes with light flecks of green and they even wore similar shaped wire-rimmed glasses. Even their personalities were alike. They were both hotheaded and tended to think with their heart more than their head. People often turned to them naturally for leadership and both had a burning passion to help others. Mrs. Potter often joked that she sometimes wondered if James even had any genes from her side of the family.

"Go find your father," his mother directed. "He wanted to talk to you before you left."

James frowned but he walked to his father's study and poked his head in.

"Dad?" he called.

His father was sitting at his desk, frowning as he read a letter. Mr. Potter looked up in surprise. He quickly looked at the clock on his desk, which showed that it wasn't even 7 a.m. yet.

"James?" he asked. "Come in. Is everything ok?"

"Just couldn't sleep," he said, letting himself inside.

Mr. Potter seemed to be considering something and finally made up his mind and heaved a sigh.

"Very well, this is good. There's something I need to talk to you about. Shut the door."

James' heart skipped a beat. For a fleeting moment he wondered what kind of trouble he was in; his father never asked him to shut the door to his study unless he wanted to discuss some kind of punishment for something _really_ bad he had done. He racked his brain wondering what he could have possibly done. He and Sirius, his best friend who was currently living with them, _had_ snuck out on Sirius' flying motorcycle, but he hardly thought his dad would be punishing him a week later, especially since they hadn't even been flying the motorcycle. They'd just wanted some air, to get out of the house for a bit after his mother had made them spend the entire day cleaning.

Mr. Potter laughed as he saw James' hesitation.

"You're not in trouble, son," he assured him. "It's just some important Ministry business I want to discuss with you."

James was torn between apprehension and pride at having his father entrust him with important business. Mr. Potter was head of the Auror Office at the Ministry, which meant that a lot of the time he was assigned dangerous tasks. He kept his family apprised of what went on at the Ministry but generally preferred to keep the specifics of his job private. But if he was choosing to share it with him…

James loved keeping situations light with jokes and pranks, there was no doubt about that, but he could be absolutely serious when the situation demanded it, as he suspected this one did. He didn't belittle what his father did for the Ministry or what difficult duties were assigned to Aurors. In fact, he had already spoken to McGonagall about his future and he fully intended to join his father at the Ministry as an Auror after graduating. James took a seat opposite his father and looked at him directly to show that he could be trusted; his father's eyes bore intensely into his own.

"James," Mr. Potter said, adopting a serious tone. "I want you to promise me that what we discuss will stay between you and me."

"Of course," James said immediately. He was the master of keeping secrets and he was prepared to do anything for his father if it meant assisting him with his job.

"Good," Mr. Potter said, his gaze unwavering. "Now I am going to give you a package that I need you to transport to Hogwarts. It needs to be delivered to Professor Dumbledore and _Professor Dumbledore only_. That is very important."

James nodded. "What's in this package?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

Mr. Potter hesitated for a moment, but finally settled on the truth. "A locket. It belonged to Godric Gryffindor."

He reached in one of the drawers of his desk and pulled out a small square box wrapped in plain brown paper and tied with a string. He undid the packaging and pulled out a locket no bigger than a snitch, attached to a thin golden chain. The locket itself was gold, encrusted with rubies and was engraved with a fancy G, no doubt for Gryffindor.

James was dying to know why, if it was so important, he couldn't just give it to Dumbledore himself. He asked his father just that.

"It's complicated, James" he responded vaguely. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Then he seemed to think the better of his answer and elaborated. "There are some people after it, some very bad people. We think it's best if someone takes it to him under the pretense of a priceless family heirloom."

James frowned. He looked away from his father and his gaze wandered to the window behind his father's desk. He could see their back garden out the window, a large expanse of lawn covered in birch and apple trees. A soft summer breeze was blowing through the apple blossoms. There was a black falcon sitting in one of birch trees just outside the window, ruffling its feathers importantly. He had a million questions for his father. Who were these bad people? And why were they after a centuries old locket? Did the locket have any special value? How had his father come in possession of the locket in the first place? But he swallowed all the questions back.

"Are you sure you want to trust me with this?" he asked finally.

Mr. Potter put his glasses back on and reached out to touch his son's hand. He squeezed it hard and looking directly in his eyes said, "I'd trust you with my life, son."

His father had never spoken to him in this manner before. James was quite touched.

-:-

As always King's Cross Station was packed with hundreds of young witches and wizards who were eagerly awaiting their return to Hogwarts and the chance to catch up with their friends after months of separation.

Mr. Potter had pulled James away right before they'd left Godric's Hollow and given him the locket, which was safely back in its brown paper packaging. It was almost hard to believe that the unassuming package held something that even the Ministry wanted it in Hogwarts with Dumbledore.

"Don't forget," he warned as James slipped the package in his trunk. Mr. Potter had thought it would be best if it were safely locked inside James' trunk until he got to Hogwarts. James could then grab it before he got off the train. Mr. Potter smiled down at his son and pulled him into a hug, surprising him.

"Have a good term, son."

His mother's goodbye was much more emotional as she extracted promise after promise from him on the station.

"Promise you'll write as soon as you get to Hogwarts."

"Yes, mum."

"And promise me you'll get a haircut!"

James rolled his eyes. "Yes, mum."

"And promise me you'll stay out of trouble," she said sternly.

"Mum," James said exasperatedly.

She wasn't having any of that and glared at him. James gave in. "Alright, I'll _try_," he said noncommittally.

"Oh James, be careful," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Nearly a whole head taller than her, he had to stoop down to hug her properly.

"I will," he said, giving her one last squeeze and a kiss on the cheek. He smiled and waved at his parents one last time before finally boarding the train.

The whistle blew, signaling that the train was about to depart, and there was a sudden flurry all throughout the station as students scrambled onto the train. James dragged his trunk to the back of the train, searching for any sign of his best friend, Sirius Black.

"James!"

James grinned brightly as he caught sight of his best friend Sirius waving him over. Though Sirius had spent his summer holiday at the Potters, he had boarded the train earlier under pretense of finding seats; as much as he appreciated everything the Potters had done for him, he still wanted to allow them time to say a proper goodbye to their son.

Peter Pettigrew, the third member of their group, was already in the compartment. As Sirius helped James stow his belongings, James caught up with Peter.

"How's your gran Pettigrew?" James asked.

Peter scowled. "Still living," he said sullenly. James and Sirius burst into laughter.

Every year Peter's family dragged him to Leicester for most of the summer, insisting that he had to visit his dying grandmother. Each year, when he returned to school, she was still breathing and healthy as could be for a 93 year old.

"You should take Priscilla Westerly up there and just go at it," James suggested. "That sight alone should do the trick!"

Peter blushed a bright red at the thought of doing anything at all to Priscilla Westerly, a Ravenclaw he'd had a crush on for the better part of a year. He hadn't yet even worked up the courage to have a conversation with her out of class.

"Oh come on Peter," Sirius chided. "You're going to have to talk to her a some point."

He'd been pushing him to initiate contact with the girl since he'd discovered his friend had a thing for her, which made Peter anxious to no end.

Sirius Black was never one to shy away from confrontation, especially with a girl. With dashing good looks and a charming personality there was no shortage of girls fawning over him, a fact that he both knew and used to his advantage. Like James, he had dark hair, but his think waves framed his tanned face more elegantly. Sirius' eyes were a blue-gray that often bore an intensity that gave him the appearance of looking right through people. And while James preferred a clean-shaven look, Sirius favored a five o'clock shadow that he felt made him look more mature. James thought he was an idiot but the ladies seemed to side with Sirius.

Sirius, unlike James, had no qualms whatsoever using the girls who threw themselves at him. Most girls were convinced that they were the one to tame his ever-wandering heart but he had no intension of settling down, especially not while still in school.

Peter, on the other hand, was worse with girls than he was at potions—and he tended to go to the hospital wing once every other week due to a potions related injury. In fact, no one had known who he was until he had started hanging out with Sirius, James and Remus, the three most popular boys in school.

His friends had always been a source of insecurity for Peter. At only 5'5" he was nearly a whole head shorter than James, Sirius and Remus. He had short blond hair, watery blue eyes, a weak voice and a generally quiet disposition, preferring to remain on the sidelines instead of the center of attention. Though not unattractive, his small features didn't hold a candle to James, Sirius and even Remus' bright faces and dazzling smiles.

"Oh come off it, Sirius," James chided, already losing interest in the conversation. "Leave the boy alone. He'll talk to her when he's ready."

"I'll do it this year!" Peter promised eagerly, not wanting to be dismissed, but the two other boys had already moved on.

"So," James said grinning deviously at Peter. "Sirius and I finished the sketches for the Map!"

He pulled what looked like an old piece of parchment out of his robes and spread it out on the seat beside him. Peter eagerly watched as James pulled out his wand, tapped it and said clearly, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

Black lines began to appear on the parchment, drawing and connecting themselves to reflect the different passages, rooms and staircases found in the castle itself. It had taken the four of them the better part of a year to fully explore and make accurate sketches of all the hundreds of different pathways found within Hogwarts. In fact, because of just how big the school was, they'd had so many scraps of parchment of different areas drawn by each individual that Sirius and James had been forced to spend half their summer piecing together all the different scenes. It had been sort of like a massive puzzle and once they'd managed to figure out how the drawings fit together and where they overlapped, they'd had to retrace the entire thing onto the Map itself. Then, Sirius had put a nifty little charm on it that made the lines appear and connect themselves across the Map.

However, with no library books and no real motivation to work just yet, the Map soon lay forgotten, their attention redirected toward the food trolley's many sweets and Peter's new pack of Exploding Snap. They had all but forgotten about Remus Lupin, the last member of the exclusive group, until he walked in to their compartment about halfway through their journey.

Remus was the tallest of the four boys, standing at 6'2" and had sandy hair that was always just a little too long. In fact, he usually looked just a little shy of being put together, giving him the appearance of constantly running late. He seemed tired, as he often did, a side effect of his extremely painful monthly transformations into a werewolf. When he opened the door to their compartment, he was already in his Hogwarts robes, Prefect badge pinned to the front. For troublemakers like the four boys, there was no worse betrayal than one of their own having been made a Prefect and forced to not only follow rules, but also to uphold them.

Remus, much to the dismay and confusion of the boys, had been made a Prefect the previous year. The boys suspected that Dumbleore had made the decision hoping that having Remus thrust in a role of responsibility would lead them to adopt better behaviors. Instead, they had merely seen it a challenge to overcome before continuing on with their regular mischief.

"Remus!" the boys cried, leaping out of their seats. Sirius pulled him into a hug while James ruffled his hair and patted him on the back.

"Good of you to join us mate!"

"Oh you have no idea how awful it's been in there," he said, collapsing into a seat and rubbing his face tiredly. "Half of them are giant duds."

Remus caught sight of the Map and James immediately brought him up to speed him of their progress. Remus looked longingly at the Map and his friends.

"I wish I could stay and work but I have to go back soon," he said ruefully. "They think I'm in the bathroom. It would be a little suspicious if I didn't go back."

"Maybe if you don't go back they'll think you drowned in the toilet," Sirius voiced.

"Right because _that's_ the natural conclusion to jump to when one doesn't show up from claiming to be in the restroom," Remus retorted sarcastically. "They might as well think I peed myself to death."

"Well either way, you probably wouldn't have to be Prefect anymore," Peter chimed in.

"Wonderful, I'll kill myself to avoid being Prefect."

"You know if you do a bad job, they might just sack you," James volunteered.

"Is shoddiness your solution to _everything_ Potter?" a cold voice commented from the open door.

The four boys turned their attention to a skinny boy with slicked back black hair, a long hooked nose and sallow skin. Sirius and Remus immediately pulled out their wands while Peter fumbled with his robes trying to locate his and James hastily stuffed the open Map out of sight. James then stood up and lazily drew out his wand, his hazel eyes glittering.

"Snape," Sirius drawled. "Still haven't washed your hair I see."

"Maybe we ought to help him with that," James suggested and shot a jet of water out from his wand, hitting Snape directly in the face. Snape spluttered as the four other boys laughed. Snape fished out his own wand but before anyone could do anything further, the compartment door slid open yet again and a skinny redhead stepped in, frowning disapprovingly at the sight in front of her. Lily Evans.

James' hand immediately jumped to his hair and he messed it up even more than it already was. A lazy smirk crept across his face.

"What's going on here?" she demanded immediately. "You ok Sev?" she asked Snape but he didn't reply.

"Better watch your attitude or you might find yourself losing more than just House points," he threatened before turning on his heel and walking out.

Once Snape was out of sight, he turned to Lily. "Well, well, couldn't resist waiting until the feast to see me, huh Evans?" he drawled.

"You'd think, wouldn't you?" Lily deadpanned.

"Don't worry, I've been thinking about you too," James continued on with a quick wink.

"Something in your eye Potter?" she replied, unimpressed. "You lot better get dressed soon," she warned them. "We're almost there. Remus, a word please?"

Remus put his wand away and followed her out. A moment later he poked his head in with a dejected expression.

"I gotta go back up front," he told them with a heavy sigh before disappearing.

True to Lily's words the train did appear to be slowing down. As Peter and James crammed the last of the sweets they'd bought from the food trolley into their pockets and Sirius grabbed all three of their robes from their trunks.

As he changed into his Hogwarts robes, James had a nagging feeling that he'd forgotten to do something. It wasn't until he was safely in one of the Hogsmeade carriages, sitting across from Alice Prewett and listening to her talk about how thankful she was that they didn't have to carry their trunks up to Hogwarts themselves that it finally hit him. He'd forgotten to take the locket out of his trunk before leaving the train.

* * *

**A/N: I am SO SO SO sorry. I know there are no excuses for a ONE-YEAR delay but I promise I won't abandon this story. I have planned out quite a few chapters (at least 15) so at least there's that. I'm going to try to put up at least one more chapter within the month. Reviews are greatly appreciated! 3 **


	3. Of Feasts, Fights, & Secret Notes

******Disclaimer:** Characters/wizarding world belong to J.K. Rowling.**  
**

**.: CHAPTER TWO :.**

_Of Feasts, Fights and Secret Notes_

* * *

**L**ily was the last one off the Hogwarts Express. As a Prefect, it was her job to oversee students getting out of the train. As she hopped onto the platform, she cast her eyes around for any sign of Emmeline Vance and Alice Prewett, her two best friends, but it was futile. They were in one of the horseless carriages already speeding toward Hogwarts.

As much as she appreciated and enjoyed being a Prefect, she did miss sitting with her friends on the train ride, eating their way through a mound of sweets, joking about their summers and teasing each other about their love lives (or more likely, lack thereof). She had barely had time to say hello to them at King's Cross Station before the train departed.

"Lily!" she heard Douglas McMillan call out, holding open the door of a carriage and waving her over. She hurried toward him and clambered into the open seat beside Remus.

She remained silent for most of the carriage ride, staring out the window as the Prefects around her chattered on about N.E.W.T level courses. Her mind slipped back to the events of the previous day. Her father had given Petunia and Vernon permission to wed, but her mother had remained upset, no matter how either of them tried to console her.

And to make matters worse, her mother had burst into tears just as Lily and her father were about to depart for King's Cross that morning, hugging Lily tight and saying how much she was going to miss her. Lily had felt utterly miserable for the duration of the car ride, especially since her dad kept looking at her like he'd have liked to say something but stayed silent.

"She'll be alright Lily," he had finally said, giving her a one armed hug outside the station. Lily had just smiled weakly. She knew they'd all be fine, but it was that much harder being so far away from it all.

"You alright Lily?" Remus asked.

"What? Oh yeah I'm fine," Lily responded distractedly. "Look, I'll see you inside," she said, jumping out of the carriage, hardly waiting for it to stop, as it pulled in outside the Hogwarts gates.

Pulling her robes tighter around herself, she joined the crowd of people making their way across the grounds to the castle. She was so lost in thought that it barely registered that she had walked into the magnificently decorated Great Hall with hundreds of floating candles, golden plates and goblets adorning the five long tables and the ceiling that was enchanted to look like the sky outside.

In fact, she didn't even notice that she was inside until she crashed headlong into someone going the other way. Strong, masculine arms reached out to steady her.

"Amos," she said, blinking as though she hardly knew where she was.

"Lily!" Amos Diggory responded, smiling. Then, catching her face, his smile wavered. "Are you alright?"

Embarrassed that he was the second person in a span of five minutes to ask her that, she forced a smile on her face. "Sorry I was just lost in thought," she apologized. "By the way, congratulations!" she added exuberantly in reference to the Head Boy badge pinned on his robes, reaching out to touch him on the shoulder.

"Thank you!" he said, beaming at her but his eyes lingered on her arm for a moment. She withdrew it immediately. She had no idea what had possessed her to do that. "It was too bad we didn't get to catch up earlier."

He sounded genuinely disappointed. Right after Amos, the Head Boy and Charlene Elliot, the Head Girl had given them instructions, Lily and Doug had taken the first shift to patrol corridors. By the time they'd come back, Amos and Charlene had disappeared to find their friends. She hated that Heads were allowed to sit with friends when Prefects had to stay in the front carriages. When she was Head Girl that would be the first thing she would bring to Dumbledore's attention. _If,_ she reminded herself. It wasn't certain that she would be Head next year.

"Yeah," Lily agreed. She caught sight of Emma and Alice at the Gryffindor table, shooting questioning glances at her as they laughed about something. They were probably speculating about what was going on between her and Amos right then, Lily realized. Which was nothing. "Yeah, we should catch up soon," Lily responded, realizing that she hadn't answered him yet.

"Are you sure you're ok? I swear there's too much going on in that pretty little head of yours," he teased.

Lily let out a small laugh. "Yeah, I think I'm just tired. Listen, I'm going to—" Lily gestured toward the Gryffindor table and Amos nodded immediately.

"Oh yeah, of course. I'll see you around Lily."

He surprised her by giving her a quick hug, which Lily returned a little too late and rather half-heartedly. Lily stood still for a moment as she watched him walked away, and then shaking her head, she walked to the Gryffindor table.

"Hey!" she greeted cheerfully, sitting down beside the two girls, who were both looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" Emma demanded.

"Moving on already?" Alice asked with a sly grin.

Lily looked between the two of them. "Really?" she asked. Both girls' smiles widened. Lily sighed rolled her eyes. "Nothing. _Nothing's_ going on between us."

For being best friends, the three girls were as different as could be. Boy crazy Alice was an outgoing girl with short blonde hair, a lightly freckled oval face and a kind word for everyone. She often depended on Lily and Emma to bail her out at the last minute on homework assignments she'd conveniently put off to skim through the latest fashion magazines.

Emma on the other hand had grown up with four brothers and had learned to throw a punch long before she had learned to braid hair. With long brown hair, a smooth olive complexion, deep brown eyes and a toned body, Emma was naturally gorgeous, something she knew very well. Emma prided herself on the fact that she could flirt to get her way on anything, except maybe homework and Quidditch practice—not that it stopped her from trying.

Lily was often forced to be the mediator between hot-headed Emma, who's solution to every problem was physical confrontation and too-nice Alice who often let herself get taken advantage off.

"Uh huh, so why is that Hufflepuff skank he's dating glaring at you?" Emma asked.

Lily's eyes flickered to the Hufflepuff table of their own accord. Emma was right—Lorna Malone was certainly looking her way with a less than pleased expression on her face. But really, she could have been staring at anyone in that general direction—Tara Crosby was sitting just a few seats down from her and everyone knew that Lorna and Tara had gotten into it a few weeks before the end of term last year…

"See there you go," Lily said pointedly. "He has a girlfriend."

"And he was totally flirting with you!" Alice almost squealed.

"Maybe you'll be a home wrecker," Emma joked.

"Shut up! That's not funny!"

"It's kind of funny," Emma said with a wink. Lily leaned over a laughing Alice to punch Emma in the shoulder, but she too couldn't help laughing. God, she had missed them.

-:-:-

Across the hall, a less than amused Professor McGonagall was escorting an angry James Potter and a cheerfully grinning Sirius Black to the Gryffindor table. A quiet fell over the Great Hall as everyone craned his or her neck to see what Potter and Black had done now.

"Never have I ever!" McGonagall was saying, too angry to form full sentences. "Detention! Both of you! And before term has even started!"

Sirius was reveling in the joy of having broken a new record. He winked at a group of Ravenclaw girls who giggled.

James on the other hand was not enjoying this one bit. "You don't understand! It has to do with—" he cried, trying to free himself from her surprisingly strong grip.

"What you don't understand Potter," she hissed back, depositing the two boys unceremoniously at the Gryffindor table "is that if I catch either of you trying to sneak around Hogwarts again, you will face sure expulsion. Twenty points from Gryffindor!"

The crowd gasped. Sirius's amusement faded.

"That's not fair!" he cried, leaping to his feet.

"Sit down Black or I'll make it fifty. Each!"

Sirius opened his mouth to argue but Remus kicked Sirius swiftly in the shins and pulled him back down as McGonagall turned on her heels and walked out, presumably to get the first years.

"I can't believe she took points off her own house!" Sirius cried, glaring in the direction McGonagall had just left.

"Well, maybe if you hadn't broken the rules already," Alistair Gilmore stage whispered to the table.

"Shut up you pompous asshole," Sirius muttered under his breath.

James and Sirius reluctantly took their seats. James absently watched the first years filter in for the Sorting Ceremony. What would normally have passed by in an instant seemed to be taking years as the Sorting Hat seemed to take an unusually large amount of time deciding which house to place each student in. He impatiently tapped his foot, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.  
"What's the matter with you?" Remus asked eyeing him worriedly, but James just shook his head.

"I'll tell you later," he said, clapping halfheartedly as Laurel Thomsen became a Gryffindor.

He wondered if he could excuse himself halfway through dinner under the pretense of needed to use the restroom and head up to the Tower to grab the locket… But one look at the Head table from where McGonagall was pointedly staring at him quelled the thought. There was no way he'd be able to leave the table without her noticing.

He sighed. There were only a few more students left and soon it would be time for dinner. _I'm sure nothing will happen to the locket anyway since all the students are required to be present for the start of term banquet anyway, _he told himself repeatedly, but somehow he could not escape the feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was wrong.

Finally the last student was sorted into Hufflepuff and Dumbledore stood to announce that dinner was served.

"Finally!" Peter cried as food materialized on the table before them, and helped himself to heaping servings of everything within reach.

"Potatoes?" Remus offered brightly, but James simply pushed away his plate and dropped his forehead onto the table.

"I'm not hungry."

Three pairs of eyes followed his movement incredulously.

"What?" Sirius spluttered. "How can you not be hungry?"

"I don't know. I'm just not ok?" James responded, his voice muffled by the table.

"Is this about Evans?" Peter asked.

"Evans?" James asked, lifting his head up suddenly.

"Yeah about her and Diggo—oof!" he stopped suddenly as Remus had punched him in the side.

"Her and…?" James asked, his eyes narrowed.

"Nothing," Remus answered a bit too quickly.

"Remus," James warned, who then relented under his stare.

"She was talking to Diggory just before the banquet," he said with a sigh. "But he's Head Boy James, and she's a Prefect," he hurriedly reminded him.

Of course she was allowed to talk to guys, James conceded. But Peter wouldn't have brought it up unless it was more than just talking.

"What else happened?" James demanded.

Remus hesitated but Peter, always eager to please, answered instead. "They were standing pretty close together and flirting. And they hugged."

"Peter!" Remus chided looking at him incredulously but it was too late, James was already looking at the offended Hufflepuff with calculating eyes. "James let it go."

Remus looked at Sirius for help but the latter was too busy charming a group of girls with wondrous stories of his summer escapades, most of which were made up or heavily embellished.

His mood slightly uplifted by thoughts of revenge on Amos Diggory, James found his appetite slowly returning. He chewed slowly; the usually delicious food seemed tasteless to him. Remus scrutinized him for a second longer, then changed the subject to Quidditch. James was glad he wasn't asked to join in. He was miserable enough as it was.

As he sat absorbed in his own thoughts, he couldn't help but let his eyes drift toward _her_.

-:-:-

Before they knew it, the tables in front of them were covered in a variety of desserts: pies and tarts and ice cream blocks of every flavor imaginable. Emma yawned as she helped herself to a large portion of apple crumble and vanilla ice cream.

"Oh god, I'm so full!" Lily whined, looking at Emma enviously. "How can you eat that?"

"With pleasure," Emma said, relishing the bite she had just taken, as Alice and Lily looked on in shock.

"Oh screw it," Alice said, reaching for a slice of the treacle tart.

"Ugh, fine," Lily said, accepting the slice of treacle tart that Alice offered. "Peer pressure," she muttered under her breath.

"Stop being so dramatic," Emma said, with a roll of her eyes.

As Lily and Alice struck up a conversation about shoes, Emma let her eyes wander around the room. She hardly knew what she was looking for when her eyes landed on James Potter's chest, where he had pinned the Quidditch Captain badge to his robes. Emma felt a twang of jealousy. She had half expected to make captain. A voice in her head (that sounded for some strange reason remarkably like Lily) reminded her that there were three others in her year that had equal chance of becoming the next captain.

_You don't hear Sirius or Alice complaining_, the voice pointed out.

"Are you upset?" Lily's actual voice interrupted her musings.

"About what?" Emma asked, casually looking away from James and pretending to be interested in her dessert.

"Captain," Lily said plainly. Emma knew there was no hiding the truth, not when Lily had that tone.

"He deserved it," Emma said begrudgingly.

Lily smiled. "I know how hard that must have been for you to admit," she said. Then adopting a more serious tone she said, "As much as I hate the guy, I have to say he is an excellent Quidditch player."

"I know how hard that must have been for _you_ to admit," Emma teased. "So are you going to try out for the team this year? With Carver and Yates gone, we need a decent Seeker and Keeper."

"Oooh are you trying out?" Alice asked excitedly, joining in the conversation.

"No," Lily said, drawing out the word as if she were talking to a child. "I play Chaser remember?"

Alice snorted. "Right, that's the reason you're not trying out."

"If that's all you need, I will gladly take the position of Keeper. You can be the new Chaser," Emma challenged.

Lily bit her lip. "I just—"

"What Lily?" Emma prompted. "Will you just admit it's because of him?" she nodded her head in the direction of James but Lily stubbornly refused.

"No! I just don't have time with the charms club and Prefect duties. And we're going to be taking N.E.W.T. level classes too, which means more homework."

Emma opened her mouth to say more but Alice cut in and changed the subject; Emma would have liked to push the matter but a reproachful look from Alice silenced her. Emma rolled her eyes. She didn't understand why Lily refused to even try out. Just because she and James didn't get along didn't mean she had to give up something she loved.

Emma suddenly felt a draft of cool air and as she shivered, she felt something gently land on her lap. Her heart leapt into her throat. She knew even what it was before she even saw it: a note. There was only one person who sent her notes like that. She knew it was futile but she couldn't help but glance around the room, looking for the familiar face.

She made sure Lily and Alice were preoccupied before she carefully and silently opened the note under the table.

_Meet me in front of the portrait in 15._

– _B_

She looked at her watch. 8:15.

She crumpled up the note and stuffed it into her robes as she considered whether or not she should go. She instinctively turned to the girls beside her but stopped herself. She knew Lily and Alice would never approve of her going to see him. She considered ignoring the letter but she couldn't help but wonder why he wanted to talk to her, after all these months.

_I owe him at least that_, she told herself.

She could hear Lily's voice in her head again saying, _You don't owe him anything Emma! _

She shook it off. She was just going for closure. And curiosity. Besides it wasn't like she could ignore him forever. She was just getting their inevitable meeting over with and then they could move on.

But no matter what she told herself, she really just wanted to see him again. Her heart sped up as she anxiously kept glancing at her watch.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked, noticing the odd behavior.

But Emma was saved the trouble of answering when Dumbledore stood up to give his welcome speech and everyone's attention turned to him. She glanced at her watch again. 8:18. She forced her attention back to Dumbledore's speech.

"Likewise, in these difficult times, it is imperative we stick together," he was saying. Emma didn't know if it was just her, but he seemed to be looking almost directly at the Slytherins as he said that.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to remind you that rules exist for a reason—your safety—and so I'd like to ask that you obey them. The curfew especially, will be strictly enforced this year. And as a general reminder to all students, old and new, that the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden. And now off to bed!"

There was a sudden scuffle as the tired students clambered out of their seats and headed in the general direction of their houses. Emma followed Lily and Alice out of the Great Hall, then suddenly turned around.

"Hey Lils," Emma said, grabbing Lily's arm. "I forgot something at the table. I'll meet you up there, ok? Password?"

"Butterbeer," Lily answered, confused. "But—" Lily began but Emma was already off.

She ducked behind a pillar as a group of Professors walked back, then snuck into a group of Ravenclaws going the other way. Careful not to be noticed, she slipped away from them, took the stairs two at a time until she reached the fourth floor corridor. She cast her eyes around to ensure she was alone and darted forward to the portrait of William the Mighty, in front of which they had met for the first time.

She could see his silhouette leaning casually against the wall next the painting. Catching sight of Emma, he stepped forward into the light of the torch hanging above them. Emma's breath caught in her throat. Right, this was why she shouldn't have come.

But she couldn't help it. He had always had a strange hold on her, in that way that only first loves do. She took in his entire form, his lean, muscular frame, sparkling eyes, short blonde hair, that small scar above his left lip that she couldn't see yet, and tried not to let herself be affected. He looked like he belonged in a fashion magazine, not in school.

Emma felt her usual confidence draining away from her as he fixed her with his intense eyes. She forced herself to toughen up.

_Don't let him get to you_, she mentally repeated to herself over and over again as she took the last few steps forward. She was now right in front of him.

"Emma," he said, speaking first. "You look incredible."

_So do you_, Emma thought.

"What do you want Brad?" Emma asked instead, trying to maintain an air of indifference.

He smiled at her, causing her heart to flutter. "Just like you Em, so eager to skip the foreplay."

Emma didn't smile. "Did you want something?"

"Just to see you," he replied flippantly.

Emma crossed her arms over her chest. "Look, if you don't have anything to say—"

"Em, can't we just talk like we used to?"

Emma couldn't count the number of times they had just sat around in the middle of the night in front of that exact portrait, talking about everything and nothing, about life, the future, friends… She swallowed. _Don't let his words get to you_.

"Things change Mayhew, roll with it."

"Em," he said, stepping forward and grabbing her shoulders gently. His face was so close to her that she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. "Em, I just wanted to see how you were doing."

Emma tore herself from his gaze and stepped back. "I'm fine."

"Well I'm not," he responded immediately.

"That's not something I can help you with."

"Yes it is!" he insisted. "Don't you remember how good we were together Em?" he asked passionately.

"You want me back?" she asked, incredulous. "Remember, _you_ broke up with me," she accusatorily.

"And I see now what a huge mistake that was," he said. He reached forward and touched her face gently, cupping it in his hands. He leaned his forehead against hers and slowly brought his lips down toward hers. "I love you, Emma," he whispered.

Emma's eyes snapped open and she stepped back. "I can't Brad," she said, with as much strength as she could muster. "I just can't." She then turned on her heel and walked away. It took every fiber of her being to stop herself from looking back at him.

-:-:-

Sirius was bored. James had all but run out of the Great Hall the second Dumbledore had let them go and Remus had to take the First Years up to the Tower. He sauntered slowly up the Gryffindor Tower, a chattering Peter in tow. Sirius blocked out the ramblings of the scrawny kid who had the tendency to blabber on about nonsense longer than a woman.

He let his mind wander. There was a particularly hot girl he'd be talking to earlier, and he wondered how long he'd need to wait before he could bed her.

Peter calling his name and tugging on his sleeve brought him out of his thoughts.

"What?" he asked, annoyed, until he noticed what Peter was pointing at.

There, in the middle of a hallway, were two boys with their wands drawn, advancing on some poor kid they'd backed into a corner.

"Hey!" he yelled, drawing his own wand. When one of the boys turned around, Sirius felt a pang.

"Sirius," the boy greeted with a sardonic smile.

"Regulus," Sirius gritted out. "Should have known."

"Are you going to duel me, brother?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Anyone could easily see that the two boys were related. Regulus too had dark hair, gray eyes and handsome features, though he preferred a clean-shaven look to his Sirius' calculated carelessness.

"What, they don't even let you threaten children on your own?" Sirius replied, eyeing the other boy still holding the kid up against the wall. "They needed _Snape_ to babysit you?"

Sirius had clearly hit a nerve with his brother whose smile faded. "I'd be careful brother. The halls aren't safe anymore for blood traitors and muggle lovers."

Sirius' eyes hardened. While they may have looked alike, that was where the similarities ended. Sirius was the black sheep of the family, the reasonable, unprejudiced one who refused to believe that anyone's bloodline had anything to do with the kind of person they were. While his parents had been less than successful at brainwashing their first child, Regulus was more than happy to follow in their footsteps.

"That's enough," Severus Snape said, black eyes filled with hate, letting the boy go and turning his wand onto Sirius and Peter. The boy, seeing his attackers distracted, made a run for it. Regulus made a motion to run after the boy but Snape shot him a look that stopped him in place.

"Oh I see, Snape controls you," Sirius goaded his brother, who with a roar shot a spell at him.

Sirius deftly blocked it and let out a bark like laugh. "You're going to have to try harder, _brother_."

"What is the meaning of this?" Sirius turned to find a livid McGonagall charging at them, followed by a wheezing Professor Slughorn. Her nostrils flared as she saw at Sirius and Snape.

"He attacked us professor!" Regulus volunteered immediately.

"Bastard," Sirius muttered under his breath.

"Now, now," Slughorn said, panting at having kept up with McGonagall. He winked at Sirius. "There's no need for that. Let's all just head back to bed and sort this out later."

The unhappy Slytherins had no choice but to follow their fat old Head back to the dungeons. The second they had left, McGonagall rounded on Sirius and Peter.

"Twice in one night Black! If this atrocious behavior continues the Headmaster will have no choice but to expel you!" she threatened.

"They were attacking some poor kid!" Sirius burst out. "All we did was stop them!"

McGonagall pursed her lips. "Be that as it may, I still will not tolerate students fighting in the hallways." But instead of the detention Sirius had expected, she simply gave them a warning and escorted them back to the Gryffindor Tower.

"Butterbeer," she said curtly and portrait swung open, letting the boys in.

Sirius, angry from the encounter stormed up the stairs, ready to collapse into bed, but the minute he walked into his room, he stopped.

"Why did you—" Peter began but stopped talking as he caught sight of the room.

The entire room was ransacked. Beds were undone, as if someone had gone through them, looking for something, the wardrobes and chest of drawers were completely open, and the contents of trucks spewed the room.

"What the—" Sirius muttered, staring at the three boys already in the room. Remus and Frank Longbottom were off to one side, staring at a dumbfounded James crouching on the floor, face pale and terrified.

James looked blankly up at Sirius. "It's gone."

* * *

**A/N: Again I am SO SO SO sorry for the one-year delay! :( And again, I promise I won't abandon this story since I do have so much of it planned. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated! 3 **


	4. Of Abandonment, Butterflies, & Partners

******Disclaimer:** Characters/wizarding world belong to J.K. Rowling.

**.: CHAPTER THREE :.**

_Of Abandonment, Butterflies and Partners_

* * *

**S**irius stood at the entrance to the 6th year dormitories, flabbergasted, while Peter, who was several inches shorter than him, craned around him to see the scene that had stopped Sirius in his tracks.

"Merlin James," Sirius said, stepping inside and surveying the damage. "I knew you were upset about Lily but you didn't have to wreck our stuff too!"

The other four boys turned to him in shock.

"This is hardly the time to be making jokes," Frank muttered. "I'm going to get McGonagall."

"NO!" James' cry started Frank who stopped at the entrance. "No one can know," James insisted, walking past Frank to shut the door. "Do you understand?"

"Someone was in here," Frank insisted. "I'd feel safer knowing a professor—"

"No," James repeated.

"Say, what's missing anyway?" Frank asked curiously.

"It's um… well I can't explain."

"Is it illegal?" he asked sternly, and James was suddenly reminded of his own father. Fuck, he couldn't bear thinking about how he was going to explain the loss to his father.

"No!" James looked at his friends for help but each was now busy trying to sort out and gather their belongings. James tiredly passed a hand over his face. "It was something—something very important—that was meant to for Dumbledore."

Frank studied James' face. James didn't know what he saw but after a few moments, Frank turned around and returned to his bed at the opposite end of the room. He seemed placated, at least for the moment.

The person had clearly been unsure of which bed belonged to him and unfortunately for the other boys, his was the bed farthest from the door. His things were the least rifled through; the thief had easily found his (or her) mark after opening his trunk.

"I think these are your robes mate," Remus said, tossing them over to James. "And _your_ socks." He tossed a second bundle at Sirius that hit him in the head.

"Oy! And these would be your flowery boxers I believe!" he retorted, waving around his underwear. A red Remus snatched them out of his grasp mumbling about his mother having given them to him.

"Whose chocolates are these?" Peter called waving a box. "Ah, wait, they're addressed to Sirius."

"These trousers are Sirius' too," Frank said, handing them to Peter who walked over to and tossed them in his trunk. Sirius himself was preoccupied trying to figure out which pairs of robes were his and which were Remus's.

It took the boys close to 45 minutes to sort out whose stuff was whose and by the time they finished, 4 of the 5 boys were too exhausted to care. As they clambered into their respective beds, James angrily paced the room wondering who could have possibly known about the locket to steal from him. Who even had the power to break in?!

His stomach lurched uncomfortably as he realized that he would have to tell Dumbledore—and for that matter, his father. He didn't know whom he wanted to face less. He continued pacing, mulling over things he could have done differently. He was angry—with himself for forgetting on the train, with McGonagall for stopping them earlier, with Sirius, with Remus, with Peter… the list was endless. But in his heart he knew he had no one to blame, except himself. And he would have to face the music come morning.

He reluctantly went to bed and drifted off into a restless sleep.

-:-:-

"Well?"

Alice was lying on her bed, thumbing through a magazine while Lily bustled around unpacking all her belongings from the trunk in her usual neat and organized manner.

"Well what?" she asked absentmindedly.

"How was the sex?"

"Alice!" Alice burst into laughter as Lily just blushed. "You should be unpacking," Lily said, changing the subject. "I'm not doing it for you this year!"

She knew it was futile. Alice usually waited about a month to unpack her suitcase after which Lily would get incredibly frustrated and just do the deed for her, berating her all the while, much to Alice and Emma's amusement.

Alice with all her rosy-cheeked, girl-next-door charm was anything but. She was certainly the girliest of the three, always onto the newest trends in fashion, but she was also the most boy-crazy.

"Answer my question Lilykins," Alice replied with a smile on her pale pink lips and a twinkle in her bright blue eyes.

"Oh my god shut it!" Lily retorted playfully.

"Not until you tell me! Was it hot? Was it steamy? Ooh did you do it during the day?"

Lily threw a pillow at her and collapsed onto her bed. "It was… fine," she replied finally.

Just as Alice was about to reply the door to the dormitory opened and Emma slipped in.

"What's going on?" she asked, eyeing the two.

"What do you mean fine?" Alice asked, sitting up and ignoring Emma.

"What's fine?" Emma asked grabbing the bag of Bertie Bott's every flavor beans off the beside table where she knew Lily kept it and plopped on the bed beside Alice. She popped one in her mouth and chewed thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging and adding a few more.

"The sex with Devon apparently!"

"It wasn't bad! It just wasn't… great."

"Ah, so Diggory does it better, eh?" Emma said with a wink.

"Shh! Would you keep it down?" Lily chided, looking around to see if any of the other girls were paying attention.

"Relax, I have a charm up," Alice said, twirling her wand.

"Still…" Lily muttered. She relaxed a bit, but she still didn't like the idea of the other girls her year finding out that she had drunkenly lost her virginity to Amos Diggory the previous year.

"It's not like it's any secret that he has a thing for you," Emma said carelessly.

"That was a long time ago. And he has a girlfriend now," Lily said.

"He slept with you!" Alice pointed out.

"And a month later started dating Lorna," Lily replied. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"Only because you refused to see him after!"

Lily sighed. She had never seen herself as the type to lose her virginity to someone she wasn't even dating. Until of course it had happened. But despite her desire to be in a relationship at the time, she'd been too mortified at the time to realize that she actually liked him until after he'd begun dating someone else, and by then it was obviously too late.

"Either way, there's nothing to be done about that now is there?" Lily asked crossly. "And it doesn't even matter. I'm swearing off boys!"

Emma and Alice stared at her for a split second, turned to each other, and snorted in unison.

"Yeah right!"

Lily looked at the two of them with indignation. "Yes I am! Just you watch. No boys for Lily. I'm not sleeping with them. I'm not kissing them. I'm not even talking to them!"

The way she saw it, there was really no point in sleeping with people she wasn't interested in or being in relationships with people she didn't want to date. And she was done with both.

"You're being ridiculous," Emma said.

"No I'm not," Lily insisted. "If I find someone I like, I'll reconsider."

"Oh yeah, and how will you find someone you like if you're not talking to boys?" Alice teased with a raised eyebrow.

"Ha. Ha. _Hilarious_," Lily responded dryly. Rethinking it, she decided that she was being a bit ridiculous—half her year was obviously of the opposite gender. "Ok fine, I will talk to them, but I'm certainly not dating any."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say Lilykins."

"Say, where did you run off to anyway?" Lily asked, recalling that Emma hadn't come up to the tower with the rest.

"Just forgot my butterfly ring at the table," she said, fiddling with the ring in question. "Wow I didn't notice how late it was. Best we're off to bed!"

Lily and Alice exchanged questioning glances but didn't say anything—they were also tired from their journey and knowing McGonagall, they would have an early and busy day.

As Lily drew the hangings around her four-poster bed shut, she couldn't help but think that Emma had lied to her. She definitely hadn't met her gaze when answering her question. And she could have sworn that she remembered seeing the ring on Emma's right hand when she had asked her for the password.

-:-:-

As the morning dawned on Hogwarts castle, none of the sixth year Gryffindor boys were in a particularly good mood.

James, who'd barely slept, was crankily yelling at Sirius to "get the fuck out of the bathroom before I break the door down" while Peter was sleepily pulling gloves on his feet.

"Those aren't socks mate," Frank pointed out but his quite voice was overshadowed by another threat from James, this time threatening to hex Sirius' balls off.

Remus, who'd knowingly made it a point to wake up a half our earlier to ensure he could take a shower, rolled his eyes at the mayhem. _Every single year._ He pulled his robes over his shoulder and slipped out without any of the other boys even noticing.

In the Great Hall, the Gryffindor girls were already seated at the breakfast table when Remus walked in.

"Morning ladies," he greeted them with a smile and slid into the seat beside Alice as McGonagall came around to hand out the 6th year schedules.

Remus glanced over his schedule and smiled before rolling it up and tucking it away in his robes. "Brilliant, Flitwick first then," he said, helping himself to eggs and sausages.

"Ugh, NEWT level Charms first thing in the morning," Emma grumbled. "Sounds _awful_."

"And Potions after," Alice whined.

"I don't know what you're both complaining about," Lily said cheerfully, buttering a piece of toast. "That sounds like a perfectly fine morning."

Emma and Alice rolled their eyes. There was no secret that Lily was quite possibly the best in their year at both Charms and Potions. Alice, who herself was rather abysmal at Potions, had barely scraped the E required to move on to NEWT levels, thanks to Lily's help.

"How was your summer holiday?" Remus asked, tactfully changing the subject.

The girls mumbled an insincere chorus of the obligatory "good" and "excellent". Alice posed him the same question.

_Well I spent most of it stuck in a nearly inaccessible house in the countryside, occasionally chained in the dungeon stop me from attacking other people_. Remus swallowed his thoughts and instead settled for the equally disingenuous, "Very relaxing!"

He was spared the trouble of making further small talk when the boys joined him at the table. One look at their tense shoulders was all it took for Remus to adopt a more tactful air—clearly things hadn't improved after he'd left.

"Alright mate?" he asked James quietly as the latter plopped down next to him and started serving himself everything within reach. Remus recalled that his friend had eaten next to nothing the previous night.

James muttered something akin to "fuck off." Remus, albeit slightly offended, didn't want to press the subject knowing full well that James was in a bad mood; it didn't bode well for either of them. He silently turned back to his meal.

"Heya Lily!"

Remus' eyes shot up immediately, but not towards the girl in question but the boy sitting next to him. James stopped short, a forkful of scrambled eggs halfway to his mouth. His eyes flicked over to the boy addressing her, a 5th year—Robert McLaggen—the new male Gryffindor prefect. A lanky boy with curly brown hair and more freckles than could be counted, Robert beamed at Lily, who waved back at him uncertainly, as he joined his own group of friends a few seats down. Remus had noted the night before on the train ride that Robert seemed particularly taken with the redhead (who even he had to admit was indeed one of the prettiest girls in their year, if not the entire school) and mentally groaned at the young boy's lack of tact. He recalled that Robert had mentioned to him that he hoped to try out for the Quidditch team this year, but fat chance he'd make it past the first round now with James as the new captain.

Lily and the other girls however seemed completely oblivious to the two boys' attention, as did Sirius and Peter

"So swearing off boys, eh Lil?" Alice teased.

"Shut up, he's a prefect," Lily replied dismissively.

"Yeah and one of the hundred guys who'd like to see you naked," Emma muttered in response, to which Alice snorted. Lily punched her in the shoulder.

"Don't be crass Ems," she chided, though a slight pink was tinting her cheeks.

"I'm sorry is that only reserved for—" whatever name Alice was about say was cut short by Lily giving what looked like a swift kick to her shins. Alice yelped loudly and reached down to rub the area. "Merlin Lils! I was going to say Devon!"

Remus felt James stiffen beside him and knew that he'd heard the conversation in its entirety. He glanced at James and saw him lost in thought. James' actions concerning Lily were never rational or well thought out. In his usual manner, he ran a hand through his messy black locks and forced his signature smirk into place.

"Alright Evans?" he called, leaning over Remus to look at the girl.

Remus and Emma exchanged terse looks. _And so it begins_, Emma seemed to say, casting her eyes to the heavens, her expression a mix of amusement and exasperation. Remus' shrug in reply was erring on the side of frustration. If they weren't careful, things between the two fiery Gryffindors tended to escalate rather quickly.

Lily turned towards him. She paused for a moment, and then responded civilly. "Potter."

"Didn't realize you were into younger men," he replied immediately with a suggestive eyebrow raise. Those sitting at the table around them became silent and turned their eyes toward what was sure to be one of the infamous Potter-Evans blow-ups.

"Sod off Potter."

"Well I mean, technically, I _am_ younger than you."

"I can tell given your utter lack of maturity or responsibility," she replied without missing a beat.

"Well then, go on, go out with me," he demanded.

"No."

"Don't you—"

"Shut the fuck up Potter," she snapped, taking even James aback a bit. She stood up, her breakfast only half finished, and stormed out of the hall.

"Alright, nothing to see here," Alice waved the spectators away, who reluctantly returned to their meals.

"Everything alright with her?" Remus muttered quietly to Alice. While it wasn't uncommon for their fights to result in one of them storming off, Lily usually managed to reign in her temper for a while longer.

"Just family stuff," she responded vaguely. "She's fine."

Sirius let out a low whistle. "Nothing says welcome back like a Potter and Evans brawl at breakfast."

He let out a bark of laughter and winked at a group of third year girls staring at them, who promptly and unanimously burst into giggles. _That smug bastard_, Remus thought to himself. They'd made bets on when the first fight would be and it seemed Remus owed him 10 sickles.

"Ah shit," Peter piped up suddenly. "I forgot we've got Flitwick first—I've forgotten my charms book!"

"Well go on and get it before class!" Sirius lazily stated the obvious. Peter scrambled to his feet and rushed off.

James suddenly pushed his plate away and abruptly stood up. "I'm not hungry," he stated and grabbing his bag, he stormed out. Sirius and Remus exchanged worried looks; it wasn't like James to skip two meals in a row.

"I got it," Sirius mumbled, standing up too. "Oy James wait up!" he called, grabbing a piece of toast for the way.

"Guess it's just us then," Remus said cheerfully to Alice and Emma but Emma was distractedly glancing somewhere.

"Listen, I've forgotten something too. I'll catch up with you in class," Emma said very quickly and breathlessly to Alice, also preparing to abandon her breakfast.

"What's wrong with you?" Alice asked. "You're so forgetful lately!"

But Emma, lost in her own thoughts, didn't pay her any attention as she headed off toward the doors of the Great Hall following the rest of the group.

Alice glanced at her watch, confused. There was still a good twenty minutes before the start of classes.

"And then there were two," she muttered glancing at Remus, who smiled and clinked his goblet of pumpkin juice with hers.

"To friends who abandon us," he joked with a smile.

"Hear, hear!"

-:-:-

Having left the Great Hall a good twenty minutes before anyone else, Lily was naturally the first to arrive outside her Charms classroom. She tried the door, and finding it locked, walked to a windowsill down the corridor and sat down with her back next to the window and pulled out a book.

She'd hardly turned a page when she heard footsteps. She glanced up and her eyes fell on the tall, handsome figure of Amos Diggory.

Amos stopped and smiled when he saw her, sending the butterflies in her stomach into a frenzy. She mentally reminded herself to smack Alice for dredging up memories of things that were meant to stay in the past.

"Good morning Lily!" he greeted her cheerfully. "Light reading before Charms?" he asked, nodding at her book.

"Yeah, I got here a bit early. Door's locked," she answered lamely.

"Surely that's not an issue for someone as excellent at charms as you!" he joked.

Lily laughed and shook her head. "No, but it is such a nice day out I thought I'd read by the sunlight."

"Understandable—that's exactly what I do when I've had a row—get lost in a good book."

Lily's eyebrows shot up as her piercing emerald eyes found his muddy brown ones; she felt herself reddening immediately. "Ah," she said plainly. It was an odd thing for him to bring up certainly, but stranger people had wanted to discuss her relationship with Potter; when there were under two thousand students in the school, and they all lived together, it was pretty easy for everyone to be in each other's business.

Amos seemed to sense her unwillingness to discuss the topic and immediately said, "Oh sorry, didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject."

Lily felt her guard slipping under his kind words and eyes. She sighed. "It's just who we are. But sometimes I wish we weren't."

"He fancies you," Amos said directly, looking into her eyes as if waiting for her reaction.

Lily shrugged. "Perhaps so, but he's got such a shit way of showing it. I don't understand what anyone can see in him."

Her answer seemed to relax Amos a bit who put his hand on Lily's shoulder and said knowingly, "You're too mature to worry about someone as childish as him—he's just so insecure that everything he does is to get attention."

Lily smiled gratefully. She felt chills go down her spine from where he was touching her and she prayed she didn't look as warm as a felt. Her prayers were unheard because a moment later her concernedly put his hand to her forehead. "Are you ok? You look a little flushed. Really Lily, school hasn't even started—I think you're working yourself too hard!"

Lily laughed casually, pulling away a little. He was sitting much too close to her for her liking. "Is there such a thing?" she asked rhetorically. "But no, I'm fine, I promise." She cleared her throat. "But um, enough about me! How are things with you? How's Lorna?"

Her words had the desired effect as he immediately withdrew his hands from her. He clasped them in his lap and sighed a little. "Great," he said, a clearly forced smile on his face. "Things are great."

"Good to hear," Lily replied cheerfully.

Lily looked down at her own lap awkwardly as well and fiddled idly with her fingers. She didn't know what to make of all of this. _Had Emma and Alice been right after all?_ She wondered. _Does he still have feelings for me?_ Her heart leaped into her through despite herself.

She looked up again as they heard voices down the hall coming towards them. Amos was looking in the same direction. "Oh goodness, I didn't even notice the time. I'd best be heading off to class. Wouldn't want to be late to McGonagall's on my first day!"

"No," Lily agreed, looking at the time as well. "You'd best hurry!"

He stood up, pulled her to her feet, and enveloped her in a warm hug. "I'll see you around Lily."

"Later," she muttered after him and sank back down onto the windowsill and leaned her head against the window with a sigh. What the hell was she doing? He was in a relationship for god's sake. And if that wasn't enough he was the goddamn Head Boy. _Wise up Lily! _

And yet, despite the best efforts of her conscience, she couldn't help the surge of hope that she felt at the thought of his still having feelings for her.

-:-:-

"Hey Sirius!"

"Hey Black!"

Sirius waved absently at the group of girls, automatically fixing his perfected thousand-watt smile on his face. While he normally would have stopped to chat and flirt for a moment, accidentally brushing someone's shoulder or holding a girl's gaze for a moment too long, he was in a rush. Despite his determination to prove otherwise, he was an incredibly intelligent boy and within moments of his best friend's departure, he had guessed James' destination—the headmaster's office to come clean about his having lost the locket.

Sirius had never particularly cared for doing the right thing, and in fact prided himself on constantly going against his better judgment. And James, in Sirius' opinion, was becoming a bit too righteous for his own good. Sirius had planned on having a wonderful sixth year that consisted entirely of him hooking up with girls, exploring the grounds as an illegal animagus, pulling as many pranks as could be managed without getting expelled, and most importantly he had counted on doing all of those things with his partner in crime. He was now starting to worry that coming clean about the locket would result in his worst nightmare—the reformation of James. There was no way that the piercing blue eyes of Albus Dumbledore looking deep into James' soul would fail to extract the feelings of intense guilt and remorse that they sought, which would, naturally, thwart Sirius' plans for the perfect sixth year.

As he reached a crossroads, he paused a moment, trying to remember which hallway contained the secret pathway that would lead right to the 5th floor entrance to the headmaster's tower. He turned right.

"And this is why I told James we shouldn't be taking so long with the map," he mumbled to himself as he retraced his steps, this time walking in the opposite direction when he reached the junction. He could hear voices coming his way and in his experience, it was best to get out of the way as quickly as possible. He let out sigh of relief as he spotted the portrait of Wendelin the Weird.

"Forbidden forest," he whispered and the portrait swung open to reveal a passage. As he was about to step in, he heard the nearing voices say a word that stopped him in his tracks.

"What do you mean you _lost_ the locket?!"

He hastily stepped into the passage and shut the portrait behind him, but pressed his ear eagerly against the portrait, trying his best to make out what was being said. It appeared that voices were serendipitously passing right outside the portrait.

"The boy—"

"Stop. Making. Excuses! You had one job and you botched it up. He is not going to be happy about this."

"Well what are we going to do next?"

"We? No. This is your mess, you clean it up."

"Are you fucking kidding me?! This whole thing was your idea! How was I supposed to know that the boy would fucking break the spell halfway out of Gryffindor tower?!"

"You should have known better than to trust the…"

By this point the two people talking had walked past the portrait and rounded the corner. Sirius waited impatiently for a moment before pushing the portrait open and darting out. He rushed to the corner and peeked carefully out into the corridor wanting to catch a glimpse of the people who had been conversing but to his dismay the corridor was empty. Despite having lost the speakers, Sirius was overjoyed—it seemed as though the universe had given him the leverage he needed to stop James.

It was just minutes later that Sirius found himself running toward James, whom he could see pacing in front of the gargoyles that guarded the entrance to the headmaster's office.

"Stop!"

James turned around, startled. "Sirius? How did you…"

"I have a lead," Sirius panted, stopping in front of him.

"Lead?" James asked. "Look, can this wait? I've got to speak to Dumbledore before we're late to charms. I've tried every Honeydukes candy but I can't seem to guess the password," he added, gesturing as if to invite Sirius to take his best shot.

"On the locket. I've got a lead on the locket!" Sirius waved his arms wildly, trying to make sure he retained his friend's attention.

"What?!"

"I heard people talking—someone stole it!"

"Well of course someone stole it," James responded crossly. "We've known that since last night! Or did you not see the ransacked room?"

Sirius ignored his caustic remarks. "Think about it," he urged. "If you recovered it, no one's going to care much that you even lost it in the first place!"

James bit his lip thoughtfully and Sirius hoped he'd be able to convince him to hold off for a while.

"Look," Sirius said, his gray eyes meeting James' hazel ones evenly. "I think we might be able to track it down. Dumbledore's always been a fan of initiative. Just give it another couple of days and if we can't find it by then I'll tell Dumbledore myself."

James contemplated his words for several moments, and then conceded. "Fine. You can tell me about this lead on the way then. We've got to run or we'll be late to charms."

By the time they reached their charms classroom, mere seconds before Flitwick had begun class, James was sorely disappointed with Sirius' lack of knowledge.

"No name, no house, not even a description?!" he angrily whispered at his friend as Flitwick began lecturing. "You made me stop for literally nothing," he spat out.

Remus turned around to shush them and give them a confused glance but he was entirely ignored by James and Sirius did little more than to distractedly wave him away.

"I have a feeling it was the Slytherins," Sirius responded calmly. "Just hear me out—"

"A _feeling_?! I'm supposed to take your word because you have a _feeling_ that one of nearly 500 students _might_ be a suspect?!"

Sirius, however, was lost in thought as he recalled something from the previous night when he'd stopped Slytherins from attacking that boy. "Hang on," he shushed James. "I think I might—"

"Black!" Sirius looked up suddenly as Flitwick called out his name from atop the giant stack of books he used to see over his desk. "Since you don't seem to find what I'm saying very interesting from back there, I'll invite you to sit up here for the semester—Vance, switch places with him."

Both parties protested but Flitwick wouldn't hear of it. "Come, come, we don't have all day!"

Grumbling, Sirius gathered up his things and started walking toward the front of the class. Emma purposefully bumped into his shoulder and muttered, "You're a dead man, Black."

Sirius plopped down in the first row and sulkily opened his book to the right page.

"Alright, pair up with the person next to you and practice nonverbal summoning spells," Flitwick instructed.

He turned around with a dejected sigh. "Hey partner," he said, trying to sound cheerful. He cast his eyes back toward James, who was glaring daggers at him. He returned his attention to Lily. "Looks like you and I are working together for the rest of the semester."

* * *

**A/N:** Again, sincerest apologies for only updating once a year :( I will try to be better. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Much love xx


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